The UEFA Nations League is the new international tournament created by UEFA to replace friendly matches in Europe. There is a place at the 2020 European Championship up for grabs so there is all to play for in the groups.
Nations League A, Group 2 features Belgium, Switzerland and Iceland. The latter of the three teams was expected to be the weakest and so it has turned out. However, only one team can top the group and Belgium and Switzerland meet at the King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels for the chance to move clear in first place.
Belgium reached the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup and although they will be disappointed not to make the final, the Red Devils enjoyed a good tournament. Belgium have not wasted any time since the summer and travelled to Scotland for a friendly, which they won 4-0.
The positive results do not stop there and Belgium started their UEFA Nations League campaign with a good 3-0 win in Iceland. Not many teams have come away from Iceland with a win in recent years and it was a real statement of intent from Belgium.
Trends show Belgium have won ten of their last eleven games with the only defeat coming to France at the World Cup. In fact, that loss is the only game Belgium have lost in their last twenty-eight matches, which is a remarkable achievement.
Switzerland could not have asked for a better start to their UEFA Nations League campaign. A home match against Iceland was always going to provide an opportunity to pick up maximum points but the Swiss did it in style, winning 6-0.
This match in Belgium is going to be much tougher and Switzerland lost their most recent away game 1-0 in England. It was not a terrible result but does not bode well ahead of a match against a better team.
Switzerland have won two of their last five games, the one against Iceland and their only victory in the World Cup, which came against Serbia. Trends show Switzerland have won six of their last nine away games but the victories have all come against teams well below them in the world rankings.
Looking ahead to the team news and Belgium have a few injury problems with Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Kevin De Bruyne missing the match. However, Eden Hazard is available and he is currently one of the best players in the world.
Switzerland are without experienced full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner and forward Josip Drmic. Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is their key player and he will be hoping to get some minutes under his belt having rarely featured for his club so far this season.
The Swiss are not easy to beat as the likes of Brazil and Spain have found out recently. However, Belgium have the talent to win this game, especially on home soil and could take the points with both teams scoring.